Kurzfassung

The first spaceflight was several decades ago, and yet extraterrestrial exploration is only at the beginning and has mainly
been carried out by robotic probes and rovers sent to extraterrestrial planets and deep space. In the future human extraterrestrial
exploration will take place and to get ready for long periods of permanence in space, astronauts are trained during long
duration missions on the International Space Station (ISS). To prepare for such endeavours, team training activities are
performed in extreme environments on Earth, as isolated deserts, base camps on Antarctica, or stations built on the bottom
of the sea, trying to simulate the conditions and operations of space. Space agencies are also particularly interested in the
search of signs of life forms in past or present extreme natural environments, such as salt lakes in remote deserts, very deep
ocean habitats, submarine volcanic areas, sulphuric acid caves, and lava tubes. One natural environment that very realistically
mimics an extraterrestrial exploration habitat is the cave. Caves are dark, remote places, with constant temperature, many
logistic problems and stressors (isolation, communication and supply difficulties, physical barriers), and their exploration
requires discipline, teamwork, technical skills and a great deal of behavioural adaptation. For this reason, since 2008 the
European Space Agency has carried out training activities in the subterranean environment and the CAVES project is one of
those training courses, probably the most realistic one. CAVES stands for Cooperative Adventure for Valuing and Exercising
human behaviour and performance Skills, and is meant as a multidisciplinary multicultural team exploration mission in a
cave. It has been developed by ESA in the past few years (2008–2011) and is open for training of astronauts of the ISS Partner
Space Agencies (USA, Russia, Japan, Canada, and Europe). Astronauts are first trained for 5 days to explore, document and
survey a karst system, then take on a cave exploration mission for 6 days underground. A team of expert cave instructors, a
Human Behaviour and Performance facilitator, scientists and video reporters, ensure that all tasks are performed in complete
safety and guides all these astronauts’ activities. During the underground mission the astronauts’ technical competences are
challenged (exploring, surveying, taking pictures), their human behaviour and decision-making skills are debriefed, and they
are required to carry out an operational programme which entails performing scientific tasks and testing equipment, similarly
to what they are required to do on the ISS. The science program includes environmental and air circulation monitoring,
mineralogy, microbiology, chemical composition of waters, and search for life forms adapted to the cavern environment. The
CAVES 2012 Course will be explained and the first interesting scientific results will be presented.